So sooner as expected I have the opportunity to buy a new system. I live in Brazil, but since imported things here are more expensive and I will have guests from Germany I'm going to buy my system in Germany.

Wait!!!, before replying "Sandy Bridge":I know it outperforms the AMDs ATM but I can get a core i3 (dual-core) or a quad-core AMD for the same money. Nearly all cpu-intensive tasks (at least in Linux) use multiple CPUs, so I think between 2 Intel-cores and 4 AMD-cores I will benefit much more from a AMD. Or am I getting ss wrong here?

I am looking for a Bundel (Mainboard, integraded GPU and CPU + Memory)

video-card:I don't do ANY gaming and HD-videos shouldn't be a problem. I will go at least with Ati 3000 HD so 1080p videos should go easily. But what comes in the next 5 years (I want to use this system at least 5 years / don't doubt, as I'm writing this on a Pentium-D lol)? Perhaps in near future the standard is 2000p videos?

Memory:I want at least 4GB

CPU:>=Phenom2 >= core i3

Cooler:I have the oooooold Thermaltake Sonic Tower. I don't expect it to fit, perhaps I can make trick, but........So: After choosing the mainboard I need to choose a cooler. I want a passive one (you expected). My case is a Cooler MAster Sileo 510....so I have a lot of space for a heatpipe.

So I guess I have the following options:

core i3: - doubt: wont I profit more from 4 cores?Phenom 2: - doubt: since all I found come with Ati 3000HD, will it play future video-solutions?AMD A8: - doubt: wont I get more power for the money with a Phenom?

I will post some bundle-options from ebay.de afterwards, but first I need some general opinions.

Here are a few facts:Intel currently has significantly more efficient CPUs.Intel's branding is confusing (what does "core i3" mean?) but many of their dual-cores have HT so they run 4 threads. HT is of course slower than dedicating a core to each thread but on the other hand Intel's core are currently faster than AMD (assuming the same clock).The difference between an Intel dual-core and an AMD quad is going to be depend on what CPU-intensive task you're talking about.There still are CPU-intensive tasks which are single-threaded. This depends on the application and not on the OS.Intel as well as AMD sells CPUs with different clocks. This could make more difference for some CPU-intensive tasks than the CPU type.Most people believe some tasks are CPU-intensive when they're actually bottlenecked by something else.You don't know how long you'll be using this.

So here's my opinion:If you don't have a clue, go with Intel since you apparently want passive cooling (good luck with that!). Most people would not be able to tell the performance of an AMD quad-core and an Intel dual-core apart. Lots of people practically never run a CPU-intensive task for more than a fraction a second.If you have a clue, you can find a specific quantitative answer as opposed to general opinions.2000p videos would be even more useless than 1080p. Who cares?

So, I dicided to go with Sandy Bridge 2100. I could have a package with the Phenom II x4 965 for the same price but:1) all phenom2 motherboards I found have Ati onboard or GeForce<8xxx (Ati-driver on Linux is not ideal at the moment)2) If all say it's very good, there must be a reason3) half the power usage of the Phenom 9654) motherboard will be compatible with at least one future CPU from Intel

Seems like great picks. The Scythe Grand Kama seems like a good choice: your CPU doesn't emit much heat and the stock fan is excellent, typical for Scythe. Although there are other alternatives, I think the SCK fits your needs perfectly. And I definitely believe that Scythe sell their own thermalpaste, so why do you need to buy thermal paste separately?

My only complaint is the ram. 2 GB for a kit of 2? The price of a stick of 4 GB is equal to 2 x 2 GB, so I would suggest you to buy a single (or two) 4 GB stick. That way, you could upgrade in the next five years. About brand and model. That doesn't really matter. RAM performance is very hard to notice in everyday use. Simply buy RAM from a reliable brand. I prefer Kingston because their RAM is sold in "RAM-cases". Corsair sell RAM in un-re-usable plastic cases. I hope you understand what I mean.

I went from the cheaper MSI-board to this one because the other one was sold out. This has USB3, too (I doubt I will ever need it)I decided to buy the cooler as I want to try to run the whole system without casefans. (I run my Pentium D without any case-fan, so this should be possible)

Who said the Scythe Grand Kama fan is quiet?I'm using the smart fan feauture of the MSI-motherboard. Set to 50° target and min-fan-speed of 0. But the fan runs at abou 620 rpm though. While temps in idle are around 35 (without casefans). Why is it running at 620rpm when i set min-fan-speed to 0? It's way louder as my PSU-fan at 620rpm. I guess I have to control the fan with software hum?What max temp do you guys recomend for a core -3 2100? I guess I could even try disconnecting the fan.

Hi, the stock fan is PWM and some PWM fans will run 0% PWM at full speed. SPCR review measured the stock fan at 1300rpm full speed and 680rpm at 11~12dB(A). That is very very quiet and I really doubt that if it's truly doing 600rpm that it's too loud.Maybe try setting the fan speed to 20~30% minimum in motherboard UEFI, or try MSI's software to control fan speed. CPU temps up to 70°C are perfectly fine for a stock CPU.

Try unplugging the CPU fan temporarily when PC on (and idle) to check if makes difference to noise level.

OK, maybe I exegerated to much. I'm not sure actualy if I can hear it or if it is just the PSU. I can hear my PC only late at night, after 22h or so, rest of the day ambient noise is higher.....I will test noise with fan disconected. I guess I just expected too much. With case open I can clearly hear it.

I ran a script to test the rpm at certain PWM levels, it seams there is no way to run it below 622rpm:

If you want to make it run fanless, watch other temperatures and not only the CPU. A hotter CPU means that everything will be hotter and, unless you have another fan blowing on the board, the temperature difference between other components and the CPU is also going to drop when you take out the CPU fan.You'll most likely have to underclock if you want to keep temperatures reasonable.

I have to excuse myself. It's not the fan but my two harddrives I am hearing. Even that I suspended them I can here the motos wiring. The Sythe fan actualy seams to be much quieter than the HD-motors. Sorry for that, I'm still a beginner. I guess I will buy some foam for my case or even use mineral-wool

Hi, if your hard drives are too loud and you already have them suspended then I'm afraid any solutions are going to cost money.I have a Scythe Quiet Drive and it's great, takes 3~4dB(A) off the HDD noise, makes a significant difference. But not cheap, especially if need more than one.People have made their own equivalent using aluminium boxes and gel packs, maybe cheaper solution.

Alternative would be to buy quieter hard drives, Samsung F3 1TB fast and quiet in my experience. Old WD 1TB black isn’t but SPCR reviewed newer 2TB one as much quieter. 5400/5900 rpm “green” drives even quieter, SPCR review of latest Hitatchi 5K3000 has it very quiet with minimal performance loss vs 700rpm drive. You can also look in to laptop drives as being even quieter and not too much more expensive. WD Scorpio Black 7200rpm drive not quiet but good performers.Ultimate solution is to get SSD as boot/OS drive and a “green” drive for bulk storage.You may find that your existing hard drives have value sold on eBay or the like and may not cost too much to change them for new, faster, quieter solution.

The fan rpm / PWM setting you posted look quite normal to me, many PWM fans have a minimum speed they will go down to, often in 25~35% range.See this PDF doc.

I found review here for the WD so I guess the noisemaker is the Maxtor.

Yesterday before going to sleep (about 1:30 am) I started my PC with HDs unpluged. Result was a totaly quiet PC at my sitting position. So, I'm done PSU/cooler/fan wise and my remaining problem is HDs.

I wont be able to buy a new HD in the near future. But I will make a acoustic treatment in my room and I will test some absorbtion material in my case.

"Why not disable the MAxtor?", you might think, since it's only 80GB and the WD big enough. It's because I run Linux and have OS and data partition on seperated HDs. Data is on Maxtor and is backuped automaticly to the WD once a day. WD has another partition for data that I don't mind to lose. I like that solution.

How about getting a cheap (or free) used hard-drive to replace that antique instead of trying to absord the noise it makes? You don't have to buy new stuff.Both drives are probably quite noisy but chances are the older one is worse.

How about getting a cheap (or free) used hard-drive to replace that antique instead of trying to absord the noise it makes? You don't have to buy new stuff.Both drives are probably quite noisy but chances are the older one is worse.

yea, thats an option. I'll see.I'm not in a hurry, as as I stated, I can only hear the PC late at night, so it doesn't bother too much.

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